GPS-based ticket generation in harvest life cycle information management system and method

ABSTRACT

A system and method is presented for gathering data concerning harvests. Data tickets are generated at a point of origination (i.e., the field), local storage, processing, or a customer location. Data tickets may also be generated for supplies delivered to the field. Implements attached to a vehicle in the field (e.g., a tractor) may provide sensor data over a vehicle communication bus about how a field processing task was performed. A computing device on the vehicle periodically reads the sensor data and records the data along with the current time and GPS position of the vehicle as a data point. A plurality of data points are transmitted to a remote server as a data trail. Data trails from a plurality of vehicles are compared to find points of intersection. Sensor data in the data trails for the points of intersection are examined to determine data related to the transfer of goods between vehicles during the time of intersection.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/832,661, filed on Mar. 15, 2013, which inturn is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/551,916 (the '916 application), filed on Jul. 18, 2012. The'916 application claimed the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application61/508,819, filed Jul. 18, 2011. All of these applications are herebyincorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present application relates to the field of automated harvestmanagement. More particularly, the described embodiments relate to asystem and method for tracking planting, field processing, andharvesting in mining, agricultural, and forestry industries throughmanual or automated data ticket processing.

SUMMARY

The presented embodiments disclose a flexible, cloud-based tool thatprovides an automated method to record the harvest and distributionprocess, and tools to meet unique requirements of farming operations.The system integrates with a farm's existing infrastructure to captureand record data necessary in order to secure harvested crops from thefield to the point of delivery. The system further tracks and managesthe inputs used to grow the crops, including seed, fertilizer, andherbicides. The system also integrates with forestry and mininginventory to secure harvested wood or mining products from the point oforigination to the point of delivery.

This is accomplished by the recording of tickets during various stagesof the input or harvest process. The tickets generally represent thetransfer of an input or a harvest from one machine or location toanother. Tickets can be generated manually. Workers record the data andtime of the transfer, and the amount of input or harvest transferred.These tickets are gathered at a cloud-based server for processing.Tickets can be generated automatically through the use of beacons andelectronic sensors.

In one environment, breadcrumb trails are generated by a variety ofmachines or locations involved in the input or harvest process. Thesetrails are transmitted to a central server, which compares trails andlooks for touch-points in the trails. Touch-points may generate one ormore tickets, with data submitted within the breadcrumb trail being usedto populate the data within the ticket. Manually generated tickets canbe compared and merged with automated tickets. Trails can be comparedwith geo-fences in order to trigger the creation of tickets and topopulate data within the tickets.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing locations that can be used tosource, store, process, or receive the goods from a farm, forest, ormine.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the components of a system thatgathers, stores, and processes data in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a three-ticket process that takesgoods from a field, stores the goods in local storage, and then deliversthe goods from storage to a customer.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a two-ticket process that takesgoods from a field to a customer.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a five-ticket process including aprocessing step.

FIGS. 6A through 6F show screen shots from a ticket creation softwareapplication running on a mobile device, with FIG. 6A showing a homescreen shot, FIG. 6B showing a cart ticket entry screen, FIG. 6C showinga field-to-storage ticket entry screen, FIG. 6D showing afield-to-customer ticket screen, FIG. 6E showing a storage-to-customerentry screen, and FIG. 6F showing additional data entry fields that formthe storage-to-customer ticket entry screen of FIG. 6E.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing system capable of ticketgeneration without human interaction.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing data movements for input materialsfor farming.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a communication bus (e.g., anISOBUS), on a vehicle such as a tractor, wherefrom data about implementsused by the vehicle in the field may be extracted.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process for preparation of a dataticket using information from a communication bus (e.g., an ISOBUS), ona vehicle such as a tractor.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating possible components of aharvest data extractor on the communication bus.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating a complete life-cycle—fromseed supplier to consumer of the harvest—that may be tracked, verified,and analyzed using a ticket-based system.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a second embodiment of acommunications bus on a tractor in communication with a tablet computerand a remote server.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing the data elements in a breadcrumbtrail.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing the geographic path of twovehicles and the related touch-points.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing the geographic paths of FIG. 15with the addition of the geographic path of a third vehicle.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart showing one method for implementing ticketgeneration through breadcrumb trails.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing the geographic path of a firstvehicle of FIG. 15 overlaid with a geo-fence for two farm fields.

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing the geographic path of a firstvehicle of FIG. 18 overlaid with the geo-fence defining the two farmfields differently.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart showing a method for populating data in relatedtickets.

FIG. 21 is a flow chart showing a method for assigning data withintickets to fields based on geo-fence definitions of the fields.

FIG. 22 is a flow chart showing a method for utilizing breadcrumb trailsto automate to do list completions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Overview

The present invention can be used to track goods that are obtainedthrough farming, forestry, mining, drilling, and similar processes. Forinstance, agricultural crops such as corn or cotton are ideal candidatesfor tracking through the disclosed embodiments of the present invention.In addition, lumber obtained through harvesting forests can also betracked, as can coal or other materials that are removed from the earththrough mining, and oil, natural gas, and other hydrocarbonic materialsremoved from the earth through drilling. The current description willdescribe the use of the present invention in connection with farming.Nonetheless, it should be clear that the same systems and processes canbe used in these other contexts as well.

FIG. 1 shows four key locations where the harvest data is to beobtained. In particular, data is to be obtained at the field 110 (orforest or mine) where the product to be tracked originates. In addition,data is to be obtained at local storage facilities 120 where the crop(or other product) can be stored temporarily after being collected. Datais also obtained at processing facilities 130, such a cotton gin or cropdrying facility that processes or transforms the crop in some way.Finally, data is obtained when products or crops are delivered to acustomer 140 that pays the farmer for their crop. These differentlocations 110-140 are shown connected by some type of transport 150. Thetransport 150 may be a truck, train, barge, pipeline, or any othertransportation mechanism.

By tracking data about a crop at various locations, it is possible toaccumulate comprehensive data about a farmer's harvest in a way that hasnot been previously possible. It is important to track this data at thelocations 110-140 specified in FIG. 1 because it is at these locationsthat a crop must be carefully monitored for potential loss or otherevents. For instance, it is important for a farmer to confirm that theamount of crop taken off the field and delivered to a trucking firm isthe same as the amount of crop received and paid for by the farmer'scustomer. In addition, monitoring the crop at these locations alsoallows the farmer to analyze their business for profitability. Forexample, by tracking the crop that comes off each field 110, the farmercan determine the comparative yield for each field. These results can becompared to the inputs (such as seed, fertilizer, pesticides, labor)that created that crop in each field to determine whether changes inprocedures might increase the profitability of a farm.

FIG. 2 shows one system 200 that can be used to track this harvest data.In this system, a plurality of handheld devices 210, 212, 214 are usedby the farmer to obtain data about the harvest. For instance, a workeroperating a field cart can record on handheld device 210 informationabout each cartload of a crop that is delivered to a semi truck fortransportation. This information can include the field where the cropwas harvested, the time and date of that harvest, an identifier for thefield cart being operated by that worker, the weight of the crop thatwas delivered to the semi, the particular semi that received the crop,and the driver of that semi. Additional information could also becollected, such as descriptors about the weather (sunny, cold, etc.) anddescriptions about the crop (healthy, wet, etc.). Similarly, anotherworker can use handheld device 212 to receive information about thedelivery of the crop from that semi to the farmer's local storagefacility 120, while a third worker can use handheld device 214 to recordinformation about deliveries made directly to customers 140.

Data relating to the receipt of crops at the various data gatheringlocations 110-140 is recorded on the handheld devices 210-214 as data“tickets.” Data tickets contain data, typically in a plurality ofstructured data fields, concerning a transfer of a crop from onelocation to another. The devices 210-214 then transmit these datatickets over a network 220 to a remote server 230, which then stores thedata in a database 240. In one embodiment, the network 220 is a widearea network such as the Internet. The handhelds 210-214 can access theInternet 220 through a WiFi network. Frequently, the handhelds 210-214will be gathering data in locations that do not have WiFi access easilyavailable, such as in a farmer's field. In one embodiment, the handhelds210-214 allow input of data even when the device does not have networkaccess. This data is cached in local storage on the device. Thehandhelds 210-214 then periodically determine whether access to thenetwork 220 is available. If so, data cached in the local storage isthen sent to the server 230 over the network 220.

In another embodiment, the handheld devices 210-214 include cellularcapabilities, such as smart phones or tablet computers using Apple's iOS(from Apple Inc., Cupertino Calif.) or the Android operating system(from Google Inc., Mountain View, Calif.). These types of devicescontain processors, such as those defined by ARM Holdings plc(Cambridge, England, UK), and non-transitory memory such as flash memorythat contains data and programming for the processors. These devices mayalso be able to transmit data over the Internet 220 using cellular datanetworks. With such capabilities, data can be transmitted to the server230 immediately upon data entry as long as the device 210 is withinrange of a cellular tower with data capabilities. Even with thisembodiment, the devices 210-214 are preferably designed to cache datawhen the network 220 is not immediately available.

The data is accumulated in database 240, and then made available to thefarmer through a back office computer 250 operating over the samenetwork 220 and server 230 that was used to collect the data from theremote handheld devices 210-214. In other embodiments, different ormultiple physical servers could perform the function of the server 230shown in FIG. 2 without altering the scope of the present invention.

The back office computer 250 accesses the database 240 throughprogramming provided by the server 230, ideally through a web browser orother thin client operating on the computer 250. In effect, datacollection and data analysis for the farmer are provided using asoftware-as-a-service model. The farmer pays the operator of the server230 and database 240 for the right to store data in the database 240 andto use software operating on the server 230 to analyze this data. Thisfrees the farmer from the headaches of maintaining the network andserver needed to store and backup the data. Meanwhile, the operator ofthe server 230 and database 240 offers the same service to multiplefarmers.

The data analysis software provided to the back office computer 250allows the farmer to compare payments received from a customer (asevidenced through settlement documents and delivery receipts from thecustomer) with data tickets specifying the amount of crop that wasdelivered to that customer. Furthermore, the farmer can verify that theamount of crop taken from the fields is equivalent to the crop that waseither delivered to a customer or is otherwise in storage. This type ofreconciliation is extremely valuable for farmers, especially since thisdata is almost immediately available given the nature of the data ticketsubmission described herein. Reconciliation errors that indicate missingcrop can be immediately tracked down to a particular worker, piece ofequipment, date, and time. In addition, the analysis software availablethrough the back office computer can also give the farmer the ability toanalyze the productivity of individual fields in a way that was nototherwise possible for most farmers.

The server computer 230 and the back office computer 250 includes a setof software instructions or interfaces stored on a non-volatile,non-transitory, computer readable medium such as a hard drive or flashmemory device. A digital processor, such as a general purpose CPUmanufactured by Intel Corporation (Mountain View, Calif.) or AdvancedMicro Devices, Inc. (Sunnyvale, Calif.) accesses and performs thesoftware. To improve efficiency, processor may load software stored inits non-volatile memory into faster, but volatile RAM. The database 240can be stored on the same non-volatile memory used by the servercomputer 230 for its operating system, or on a different memoryaccessible by its process such as an external direct access storagedevice (or DASD). The database 240 consists of both data and softwareinstructions informing the server computer 230 how to access, analyze,and report on the data in the database 240.

The computers 230, 250 further include a network interface tocommunicate with other computerized devices across a digital datanetwork such as network 220. In one embodiment, the network is theInternet, and the network interfaces on the computers 230, 250 includeTCP/IP protocol stacks for communicating over the network 220. Thenetwork interface may connect to the network wirelessly or through aphysical wired connection. Instead of being a single computer with asingle processor, the server 230 could also implemented using a networkof computers all operating according to the instructions of thesoftware.

Ticket Generation

FIG. 3 shows a typical process 300 used by a farmer to track cropscoming off a field 110. In this process, a combine 112 in the field 110takes the crop off the field 110. Periodically, the combine 112transfers its load to a field cart 114, which then takes its load to oneor more waiting semi trucks 152 for transport 150. In this embodiment, adata ticket 310 is created when the crop is transferred from the cart114 to the semi 152. This first data ticket 310 is referred to as acart-to-truck ticket (or simply “cart ticket”) 310. In this embodiment,the cart ticket 310 is created by a worker operating the field cart 114.Using their handheld device 210, the worker opens an application (orapp) that operates on the device 210. The worker logs into the app, sothat the app knows the worker's identifier, the particular field beingworked by the worker, as well as an identifier for the cart 114 beingoperated by the worker. When the transfer is made to the semi 152, theworker tells the app to create a cart ticket 310. The worker must inputor verify the crop, identify the semi 152 and the driver of the semi,and then input the amount of crop transferred to the semi 152. In mostembodiments, the cart 114 has an integrated scale. The app requests thatthe worker input the weight on the scale before and after the transferto the semi, with the calculated difference being the amount of the croptransferred to the semi. The worker may also include descriptors aboutthe current weather conditions or the condition of the crop (i.e.,“wet”) with the data transmitted in the cart ticket 310.

In FIG. 3, the cart ticket 310 is the first ticket created, and is alsocalled ticket 1. In some embodiments, the driver of the semi also has ahandheld device 212, and the semi truck also contains a scale. In theseembodiments, the semi driver will also create a cart ticket 310 (i.e.,ticket 1b) indicated the amount of crop received from the cart 114, andthe identifier of the cart and the cart operator. While these two carttickets 310 contain essentially the same information, the creation oftwo tickets allows comparisons between the tickets and the ability todetect and correct faulty data from one of the tickets. Because the datais mostly duplicative, however, some embodiments would create only asingle cart ticket 310.

In the process 300 shown in FIG. 3, the semi driver delivers their loadto a local storage facility 120 on the farm. This storage facility mayinclude a plurality of storage bins, including storage bin 122. When theload from the semi truck 152 is transferred to the storage bin 122, asecond ticket (known as a field-to-storage ticket) 320 is created. Thisticket 320 can be created by the operator of the truck 152 using the apprunning on their handheld device 112. Like the cart ticket 310, thefield-to-storage ticket 320 contains information about the deliveryequipment (semi 152 and the driver) as well as the receiving equipment(storage bin 122). A bin operator may have their own handheld device114, and therefore may create their own version of the field-to-storageticket 320 (ticket 2b in FIG. 3). Note that since the storagecapabilities of the field carts 114 and the semi trucks 152 are notidentical, there is not a one-to-one correspondence between the carttickets 310 and the field-to-storage tickets 320.

A different semi truck 154 may then be used at a later date to take thecrop from the storage bin 122 and deliver the crop to the customer 140.To track this transaction, the truck driver will create astorage-to-customer ticket 330 to track details about the delivery,including date, time, identifiers for the semi 154 and the driver, theoriginating location (storage bin 122), the receiving location (grainelevator 142 at the customer location 140), and the condition of thecrop (“dry”). The crop condition may be based merely on generalobservations (“dry”), or may be made upon scientific tests establishingvarious characteristics of the crop (i.e., moisture content). Thesetests may be conducted at the farmer's storage facilities 120, at thecustomer's facilities 140, or at both locations.

If the customer participates in the system 200 with the farmer, thecustomer 140 could create a corresponding ticket 330. In most cases,however, the customer 140 does not participate, and instead presents thedriver with a written delivery receipt 340. When payment is made to thefarmer, the payment will likely include a settlement document 350 thatincludes the delivery information found on the delivery receipts 340.Payment associated with the settlement document 350 will relate to aspecific contract 360 between the customer 140 and the farmer.Consequently, to complete the data in the database 240 for propertracking and reconciliation, it is contemplated that the interfaceprovided by the server 230 to the back office computer 250 includes theability for the farmer to enter information about written deliveryreceipts 340, settlement documents 350, and contracts 360.

FIG. 4 shows a simplified process 400, where the farmer delivers theircrop directly to a customer 140 without storing the grain at a localstorage facility 120. In this case, the transfer from the field cart 114to the semi truck 152 creates one or two first tickets (the cart ticket)410. This cart ticket 410 is effectively the same as the cart ticket 310created in process 300. Rather than transporting the crop to storage120, the semi 152 in process 400 delivers the crop directly the customerelevator 142. When this delivery is made, the truck driver creates asecond ticket known as a field-to-customer ticket 420.

The process 500 shown in FIG. 5 is similar to the processes 300, 400shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, respectively, although process 500 contains moresteps. In this case, the field cart 114 delivers the crop to semi 152,and in the process the operator or operators of these machines create acart ticket 510. The semi 152 delivers the crop to the local storage bin122, and a field-to-storage ticket is created 520 that is much liketicket 320 described above. In process 500, the farmer must pay a thirdparty to process the crop. For instance, if the farmer were growingcotton, the farmer would pay a cotton gin facility to gin the cotton. Asemi 154 is used to transfer to crop to the processor 130. When the cropis delivered to the processor, a storage-to-processor ticket 530 iscreated with details about the semi 154, the semi driver, the amount ofcrop delivered, the condition of the crop, the originating storage bin122, and the specific processing facility of the processor 130 thatreceived the crop.

After the processing is complete, a new semi 156 accepts the processedcrop and delivers the crop back to local storage 120 on the farm. Inthis case, the crop is stored in storage bin 124. A processor-to storageticket 540 is created detailing this transaction. Finally, the processedcrop is taken from storage bin 124 by semi 158 and delivered to customerelevator 142, and a storage-to-customer ticket 550 is created.

In this embodiment, a data ticket is created every time the crop isreceived at the field 110, local storage 120, processor 130, or thecustomer 140. The field related ticket (cart ticket 310, 410, or 510) iscreated when harvesting the crop (effectively receiving the crop at thefield). By ensuring that a data ticket is created when the crop isreceived at each of these locations, the harvest is effectively trackedand monitored through each movement, storage, processing, and customerdelivery step. It would be possible to create additional data ticketsand still be within the scope of the present invention. However,additional tickets are not necessary to ensure the minimal level oftracking as exemplified in processes 300, 400, and 500.

FIG. 6a shows a mobile device 600 that could be used by an operator of afield cart 112 or semi truck 152, or an individual working at a storagelocation 120, processing location 130, or customer site 140. The mobiledevice 600 includes a processor (such as those created under the ARMarchitecture developed by ARM Holdings, Cambridge, UK) and tangible,non-transitory memory that contains both computing instructions(software) and data. The computing instructions include an applicationor “app” that allows the user to create data for the database 240. Asexplained above, this data is created in the form of tickets thatcontain data about a particular event relating to the receipt of productat one of the key locations 110-140. In the preferred embodiment, thisapp runs on a general purpose operating system, such as Apple's iOS orGoogle's Android operating system. Furthermore, the preferred mobiledevice 600 includes network capabilities to allow the device 600 tocommunicate with the server 230 over the network 220. This could beprovided by a WiFi or cellular network interface (or both) locatedwithin the device. Finally, the preferred device 600 includes locationdetection capabilities that can identify the location of the device 600.This helps in numerous situations, including the automatedidentification of a farmer's field in a cart ticket 310, 410, or 510.The device 600 is preferably a smart phone, a tablet computer, or anyother similar device.

The app operating on the mobile device 600 creates a home screen 610,which provides the user with the ability to change information about theuser by selecting change button 620. Information about the user,including the equipment or location being managed by the user can beentered into the app at this stage so that it doesn't need to beseparately entered for each ticket created by the app.

The home screen 610 also includes a cart ticket button 630, afield-to-storage ticket button 640, a field-to-customer ticket button650, and a storage-to-customer ticket button 660. Each of these ticketcreation buttons 630-660 bring up an entry screen for the user to enterthe necessary data to create the desired ticket. The entry screen 632for the cart ticket is shown in FIG. 6b , and can be reached by pressingthe cart ticket button 630 on the home screen 610. Similarly, thefield-to-storage ticket entry screen 642 (FIG. 6c ), thefield-to-customer ticket screen 652 (FIG. 6d ), and thestorage-to-customer entry screen 662 (FIG. 6e ) can be reached byselecting buttons 640, 650 and 660, respectively. The ticket entryscreens 632, 642, 652, and 662 allow the user to enter the datanecessary to complete the data ticket. To the extent possible,permissible data has been predefined in the database 240, preferablythrough the back office computer 250. This permissible data isdownloaded by the app running on the mobile device 600, allowing many ofthe fields in the ticket entry screens 632-662 to be filled in throughpull down selection menus. In most cases, the entry screens 632-662contain more data than can be viewed at once on the mobile device.Consequently, the entry screens 632-662 preferably scroll up and down toallow the user to access all of the data fields. FIG. 6f , for example,shows the additional data entry fields that form the storage-to-customerticket entry screen 662 that were not shown in FIG. 6 e.

Automatic Ticket Generation

FIG. 7 shows an alternative embodiment system 700 that allows theautomatic generation of data tickets. This system 700 takes advantage ofthe fact that the tickets created in the previously described embodimentare generated when product is received at a location. In the case ticketgeneration scenarios described above, a piece of equipment that containsthe product is brought into proximity with another piece of equipmentthat will receive the product. The equipment might be the field cart114, the semi 152, the storage bin 122, the grain elevator 142, orequipment at a processing location 130. System 700 takes advantage ofthis fact by detecting the proximity of another piece of equipment, andusing that detection to generate a ticket and to determine the datanecessary to complete the ticket.

This is accomplished by using beacons in field equipment to broadcastequipment location so that when two pieces of equipment are withinsufficient range, the beacon in either piece of equipment can broadcasta signal unique to the piece of equipment that can be recognized by amobile device (e.g. an Android phone or tablet) in the other piece ofequipment. In terms of uniqueness, all that is necessary is that thebeacon be unique in the context in which the equipment is used. In thecontext of a farm utilizing 25 different pieces of farm equipment, thebeacons must be unique to that farm. A beacon would be considered uniqueeven if the beacon utilizes the same signal as a different but remotebeacon not used on the farm. In FIG. 7, a field cart 720 loaded withcrop from the field approaches a semi truck 740, which is waiting forthe cart 720 on a road proximate to the field. The field cart 720contains a scale 722 that weighs the current load on the cart.Preferably, this scale 722 can be wirelessly queried by other devices,which causes the scale to return the current weight of the load carriedby the cart 720.

The field cart 720 also contains a mobile device 730 operating anapplication designed to automatically generate data tickets. A beacon744 on the semi truck 740 continuously or periodically transmits asignal that can be received by a receiver or receiver/transmitter 732 onthe mobile device 730. The app running on the mobile device 730recognizes the beacon as belonging to a particular semi 740.Alternatively the receiver 732 can be located separately from the mobiledevice elsewhere on the field cart 720. For instance, a beacon device724 that transmits a beacon for the field card 720 may also include areceiver that detects the presence of the beacon 744 from semi 740. Thiswould allow the manufacturer of the beacon technology to sell acombination beacon transmitter and beacon detector. When this beacondetector detects the beacon 744, the detector will signal the mobiledevice 730 with information about the beacon 744.

In yet another embodiment, the semi 740 does not have a beacon device744 to signal its presence. Instead, a mobile device 750 on the semi 740has its own transmitter and receiver device 752. The transceiver couldbe, for instance, a WiFi transceiver sending and receiving signalsaccording to one of the IEEE 802.11 standards. A similar transceiver 732in the mobile device 730 riding in the field cart 720 would detect thepresence of the signal from the mobile device 750. The presence of thissignal could inform the mobile device 730 in the field cart of thepresence of the semi's mobile device 750. At this point, field cartmobile device 730 could consult an internal or external database tolearn information about whether the semi mobile device 750 is currentlyoperating. Alternatively, the field cart mobile device 730 couldestablish a network or other data connection with the semi mobile device750 after that device 750 is detected. The two mobile devices 730, 750could then exchange data stored in each device 730, 750 about how eachdevice, 730, 750 is currently being used.

For example, the mobile device 730 could monitor its WiFi receiver todetect the presence of another mobile device transmitting a WiFi signal.The strength of the signal received can be used to determine the nearestmachine. Once the signal from the semi's mobile device 750 is received,the two devices 730, 750 establish a communication interface or link. Inthis way, the field cart mobile device 730 learns that the field cart720 has approached a particular semi 740 currently being driven by aparticular operator.

When the semi's beacon 744 is detected, or the signal from the semi'smobile device 750 is received and understood, the field cart mobiledevice 730 then begins to query and monitor the scale 722 operating onthe field cart 720. Alternatively, the mobile device 730 may be capableof extracting and reading other equipment related data streams, such asspeed, acceleration, braking, and dumping from the field cart 720. Theapp on the mobile device 730 can interpret the mechanical activity datagenerated from the equipment in which the smart device is located (i.e.,that the cart is unloading its load) or can monitor changes in the scale722 to see that the load in the cart has lessened. By intelligentlymonitoring these on-cart devices, the mobile device 730 will be able totell when a transfer of the product has completed, and also will be ableto tell the amount of product that has been transferred. By combiningthis information with the beacon data (which other equipment 740 is nearor nearest the cart 720), the mobile device can detect the need togenerate a ticket, complete the data in the ticket, and transmit theticket to the server 230, all without any user intervention.

In FIG. 7, the field cart 720 and the semi truck 740 each have beacons724, 744 and each have smart devices 730, 750, respectively. The semi740 may be parked next to the field currently being harvested, such ason an access road. The semi 740 remains on the road waiting to befilled, and might be located next to other semi trucks (not shown inFIG. 7). When the field cart 720 is full, the operator drives to theside of the field and approaches the trucks. The field cart 720 stopsclosest to the first semi truck 740 in line to unload.

The smart device 730 in the cart 720 may receive a data stream fromdevices on the cart 720 indicating that the cart 720 is stopped. Themobile device 730 will sense the beacon data from beacon 744 anddetermine which semi truck 740 is closest to the device 730. The device730 will next sense that the cart 720 is unloading from the data streamfrom the monitoring equipment on the cart 720 (such as scale 722). As aresult the smart device will have the capability to generate an activityrecord (a cart ticket) that documents the following:

-   -   Activity date    -   Activity time    -   Activity type    -   Initiating equipment (grain cart id—signed into the device)    -   Initiating operator (grain cart driver—signed into the device)    -   Receiving equipment (truck id—recognized from the truck beacon    -   Receiving operator (recognized from the truck beacon)    -   Activity location (from the smart device and or device GPS)    -   Truck weight (from scale data collected by smart device)

Similarly, a smart device 750 in the truck 740 will be able to createdata tickets as well. If the system 700 was so set up, the truck'sdevice 750 could create a corresponding cart ticket based on readingsfrom its own scale 742, and information obtained from the beacon 724operating on the cart 720. If the truck had no internal scale 742, it ispossible that the device could obtain this information directly from thescale 722 on the cart 720, or the weight data could be simple left blankand extracted from the cart ticket created by the cart 720 when thetickets are received and analyzed by the server 230.

When the truck 740 then delivers its load to the farmer's storagefacility or to a customer, a new ticket could be created (afield-to-customer or a field-to-storage ticket), also without operatorintervention. A beacon could be set up at either location, therebyallowing the process to repeat much as when the cart 720 approached thesemi truck 740. Alternatively, there may be no beacon at the destination(which may be likely when delivering the load to a customer). To allowthe automatic creation of a ticket in these locations, the device 750 onthe truck would know that the load was now to be delivered to somelocation after it detected the loading of the semi 740 from the fieldcart 720. Since the device 750 cannot rely upon beacon information todetermine its delivery location, the device 750 instead relies on GPSlocation. This GPS location can be determined from a GPS or otherlocating technology that is internal to the device 750 (such technologyis commonly found in phones and tablet computers running the Androidoperating system or Apple's iOS) or by reading a GPS device on the truck740 itself. This generated ticket could include the followinginformation:

-   -   Activity date (from smart device)    -   Activity time (from smart device)    -   Activity type (internal storage location or customer delivery,        as determined from the GPS on a smart device or from a beacon at        the delivery location)    -   Supplying equipment (from the Grain Cart Beacon)    -   Supplying operator (from the Grain Cart Beacon and system)    -   Activity locations (field and dump location) from GPS in smart        device    -   Weight data (from the GC ticket matched by the system or read by        the device at the scale house via Bluetooth)

This type of scenario applies to all of the activity ticket-based datacreation and collection in harvest processes as well as in inputmanagement processes. The ability to sense and record related equipmentand equipment proximity in a new and unique way enables smart devices infield equipment to auto generate activity tickets without userintervention. Importantly, this type of scenario applies broadly to ahost of harvest or input management activities across a multitude ofsimilar industries including: forestry (harvesting and planting oflumber and trees), mining (harvesting minerals), energy (harvesting oiland natural gas), or any agricultural sector.

Inputs

The system described above is used to track crops or similar goods thatare harvested from a location. As described in the above-identifiedpriority provisional application, one embodiment of the currentinvention can also be used to track inputs at farmer fields. These“inputs” may constitute seeds for planting the crop in the field. Otherinputs include fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides that are sprayedor spread on a field to improve crop yields. As shown in FIG. 8, datatickets are created when input materials are moved between differentlocations 810, 820, 822, and 830. More particular, input related datatickets are created when inputs are received in inventory 820 or 822after purchase from a source or store 810, are taken from inventory 820,822 to be used in the field 830, are returned unused from the field 830and placed back into inventory 820, 822, are moved from one inventorylocation 820 to another 822, and are returned from inventory 820, 822 tothe store 810. Transport and other farm vehicles and equipment 840provide the ability to move the inputs between these locations 810, 820,822, and 830. In some embodiments, the transporting equipment 840 hasweights, scales, and other measuring devices to help determine thequantity of inputs that are moved or applied by the vehicles 840.

As was the case in managing and tracking harvests, the tickets that arecreated to manage and track inputs have a different name and containdifferent data depending upon the movement being tracked. A “contractdelivery ticket” is used to record the input (i.e., the product) andquantity that is received from the store 810 and put into inventory 820,822 after purchase. This ticket would record the date of delivery andthe inventory location 820, 822 that received the input. A contractdelivery ticket can be created using a remote handheld (such as device210 shown in FIG. 2) by the worker that received the input intoinventory, or by back office personnel using the back office computer(such as computer 250 of FIG. 2).

A “load out ticket” is created when an input is taken out of inventory820, 822. This ticket records the input product, the quantity ofproduct, the originating inventory location 820, 822 of the input, theequipment that received in the input, and the equipment operator. The“field application ticket” is used to recording planting, spraying, orspreading an input on a field 830. The field 830 on which an input isused, and the time at which the input was applied, is recorded in thefield application ticket. In some embodiments, the field applicationticket is submitted to the remote server 230 when the field applicationis completed, which allows the worker that completes the ticket toindicate whether the application to that entire field 830 has beencompleted. This allows the system 200 to track the completion of inputapplication tasks on a field-by-field basis. A “field return ticket” isused to indicate that some of the inputs that were taken out ofinventory 820, 822 through a load out ticket were not used on the field830 (as indicated in the field application ticket) and are thereforereturned into inventory 820, 822.

If inputs can be stored in multiple storage or inventory locations 820,822, transfer tickets track the movement of inputs between theselocations. A “transfer out ticket” indicates that the input has beenremoved from one location 820, and a “transfer in ticket” indicates thatthe input as been received at a second location 822. “Supplier returntickets” are used to indicate that input in inventory 820. 822 has beenreturned to the originating supplier 810 for a refund.

These input related tickets can be generated in the same manner as theharvest tickets. In other words, the tickets can be created manually inthe field by workers using remote handheld devices 210-214, or can becreated automatically using beacons and scales that are detectable andaccessible to the devices 210-214 as described above. The tickets can bedesigned to refer to only one type of input at a time. If multiple typesof inputs are removed from inventory 820, 822 for application on field830, multiple input tickets would be used to track this movement.Alternatively, and preferably, tickets can be designed to allow thetracking of different inputs on a single ticket.

By tracking both inputs and harvests, a farmer can compare yield resultsto input applications on a field-by-field basis. In addition, the farmercan manage and track inventory of inputs and harvests, which helps thefarmer prevent loss, identify spoilage and shrinkage points, and developa greater understanding of their business.

CAN Bus

In order to improve the data that is received along with the tickets inthe above-described embodiments, it is possible to integrate the ticketgeneration process with data collected over the CAN bus of the equipmentdelivering the inputs or managing the harvest on a field. FIG. 9 shows aISOBUS integrated system 900 that can be used in this environment. Thesystem 900 is designed around an ISOBUS 901, which is a vehicle bus fortransmitting messages between components on vehicles including farmequipment. The ISOBUS 901 is a CAN bus system operating in compliancewith ISO standard 11783, which is a communication protocol for CAN bussystems that are used in forestry and agricultural tractors andimplements. The ISO 11783 standard provides a standard for control andcommunications over a CAN bus that allows for tractors and implementsfrom different manufacturers to inter-communicate.

The bus 901 provides communication and control signals between a tractor911 (or other vehicle) and various implements 939 associated with orattached to the tractor 911. A tractor 911 may use various devices 920that are “inputs” to the process of growing crops, such as a planter921, to sow seed, or a sprayer 922, for pest/weed control. The tractor911 may also use output devices 930, such as a combine 931 forharvesting crops and a baler 932 to compress and compact raked crops.Each such implement 939 may have an individual controller. Thecontrollers may be connected to the bus 901, placing the implementsunder a common control system, with manual controls entered through auser interface of a virtual terminal 910. Through a user interface, thevehicle operator might toggle among the various implements by a simpleselection through a control. Time-dependent information about the stateand operation of the connected implements 939, as well as about thetractor 911, is transmitted across the bus 901. Depending uponimplementation, location for the vehicle 911 might be acquired from aGPS device 950 over the bus 901, or might be acquired through aconnection to a wireless phone network or WiFi network.

Information available over a bus 901 may be accessed for tracking inputsand outputs to the farming (or forestry or mining) process and, inparticular, for preparing, verifying, and/or supplementing data tickets971. A data ticket 971 might be prepared for any number of tasks in thefield; for example, treatment of a field (e.g., with fertilizer orpesticide); processing of a field (e.g., raking); planting seed;harvesting a crop; or transferring any crop or substance between fieldvehicles. A harvest data extractor 970 may be connected to the bus 901for this purpose. The harvest data extractor 970 communicates, possiblyover a communications system 960, with a device such as a tabletcomputer 990, a mobile phone, or a device that is convertible between atablet and a computer such as the Microsoft SURFACE®. There are a numberof means whereby the communication could be accomplished. The dataextractor 970 might communicate wirelessly, via BLUETOOTH® or otherpersonal area network, if the tablet 990 is close enough. Detection of“close” might be done by an exchange of signals, such as a handshake,between the devices. The data extractor 970 might communicate with thetablet computer 990 over WiFi or cellular phone network, if available.Depending upon configuration, the tablet 970 might be connected to thedata extractor 970 with a wire, for example, by a USB connection.Alternatively, the information might be transferred without a network orwired connection in two steps: (1) a transfer to tangible media (e.g.,flash drive, DVD) from the data extractor 970; and (2) a transfer fromthe media to the tablet computer 990, possibly through some interveninginterface. Note that the communication system(s)/means used forcommunication between the harvest data extractor 970 and the tabletcomputer 990, or other device in that role, might be different from thecommunication system(s)/means used for communication between the harvestdata extractor 970 and a third party server 980.

FIG. 10 illustrates a process for preparing a data ticket 971 frominformation acquired from the bus 901, possibly combined withinformation provided by personnel in the field. After the start 1000,the vehicle performs 1010 some task using an implement 939 that ismonitored by the bus 901. Task-specific information is transferred 1020from the implement 939 to the bus 971. The data extractor 970 extracts1030 information pertaining to the task from the bus 971. The dataextractor 970 may process 1040 the data in any number of ways, ormaintain the data in raw form. Processing may include, for example,subsampling (e.g., saving a variable less frequently than the intervalthat is available on the bus); summarizing (e.g., computing averages orother statistics); combining two or more types of data to produce somecomposite data (e.g., combining moisture content and wet weight toestimate dry weight); or otherwise analyzing the data (e.g., to drawconclusions, such as whether the extracted data is consistent with datafrom other sources, such as operator entry). When the task with theimplement 939 is completed, a person may manually enter 1050 thatinformation into a data ticket 971. In the embodiments illustrated byFIG. 10, the relevant information from the data extractor 970 istransferred 1060 to the tablet computer 990, and that information isincorporated 1070 with, or added to, manually entered information aboutthe task into the data ticket 971. The data ticket is uploaded 1080 to aserver 230 (possibly after some exchanges at intermediate points wheresupplies or product or transferred and data tickets are created, such ashave already been described). From the server 230, information from thebus 901 may be accessed, possibly remotely by a farmer or by the managerof the data ticket system, and used 1090 to verify manually-enteredcontents of the data ticket 971 and/or for comparison with otherinformation acquired from data tickets from various stages in plantingor harvesting, or with other data. The process ends at 1099.

In other embodiments (not shown), information from the data extractor970 might be uploaded to a server separately from ticket creation,either synchronously or asynchronously. For example, the data extractionmight be performed by a third party, and uploaded to its server, whichis accessible over a wide-area network by users for verification oranalysis.

FIG. 11 illustrates exemplary components of a harvest data extractor970. A particular harvest data extractor 970 might include some or allof the components shown in FIG. 11, and possibly others. Thesecomponents incorporate logic that is represented in hardware (e.g.,hardware interfaces, processor(s), tangible digital storage), and/or insoftware instructions stored in such storage and accessible forexecution by processing hardware. The components may include:

-   -   Processor 1100;    -   Tangible digital storage 1101 including software instructions        and data, including task-specific data acquired from the bus        901;    -   Interface with vehicle bus 1150;    -   Interface with external communication system(s) 1151, for        transferring data to the tablet computer; uploading data to a        server; and or downloading information from external sources to        use in processing information from the bus 901;    -   Interface with vehicle (or instrument) operator 1152, because        the data extractor 970 itself might be incorporated as a device        on the bus 901 that an operator might access with the virtual        terminal 910;    -   Module 1110 to select types of data to extract from the bus 901;    -   Module 1111 to set timing for how often to select the data        types;    -   Module 1112 to access (send data to/receive data from) the bus        901 and the storage 1101;    -   Module 1120 to transmit (and receive) across external        communications systems;    -   Module 1121 to prepare data tickets (if automatically generated)        or to augment manually prepared data tickets;    -   Module 1123 to respond to triggers that cause events, such as        uploading of data to a server;    -   Module 1130 to request from, or send to, the vehicle operator        pertaining to harvest information tracking.

According to published standards, some examples of types of data thatmight be obtained from an ISOBUS 901 from a data extractor 970 regardinga treatment (e.g., planting, fertilizing, harvesting) include thefollowing:

-   -   Start and end date and time for a task;    -   Operator;    -   Field;    -   Total acres to which treatment is applied;    -   Vehicle speed during application;    -   Gallons of treatment material per acre;    -   Pressure applied when planting seed;    -   Application rate;    -   Fertilizer applied;    -   Insecticide applied.

In addition to the types of information already described regarding datatickets generally, information provided by a vehicle operator or fieldmanager as part of a data ticket 971 relating to a treatment mightinclude, for example:

-   -   Whether treatment of the field was completed;    -   Method of applying the treatment;    -   Temperature;    -   Wind speed;    -   Sky conditions; and    -   Comments.

Recall that in FIGS. 3 and 4, data tickets were created at points oftransfer between vehicles, with weight of the crop loaded onto a vehiclepossibly being an important tracked parameter. Using the communicationbus 901, much more information may be available about the preparation,planting, treatment, harvesting, and clean-up processes, as well as thetangible inputs (e.g., seed, fertilizer, pesticide, insecticide) andoutputs (e.g., crop yield, crop moisture, crop quality) to thoseprocesses. This information can be integrated with the data trackingmanagement process in several ways. In the case of harvesting, afield-processing (or field-treatment) ticket 971 (in this case afield-to-cart ticket) might be prepared that summarizes the crop beingdelivered to the cart. This ticket may include information aboutquantity, but may also include information how the crop was harvestedand its condition. The quantity information might be measured directlyby the implement 939, or in some cases might be calculated from theprocess. For example, from the speed of the vehicle 911, the time spentin a field, the cutting width of a harvester implement 939, andknowledge about crop density, a quantity can be estimated. Although suchan estimate may be less accurate than the weight of a crop in a cart ortruck, it is certainly good enough for a verification of reasonableconsistency about crop quantity with subsequent elements of the deliverychain. The vehicle receiving the crop may prepare a double-entry mateticket 971 b to allow comparison.

Note that some or all data within a field-processing data ticket 971 maybe handled automatically. Data might be extracted, filtered, summarized,or analyzed by the data extractor 970, and transmitted by somecommunication system 960 to a remote location, such as a third partyserver 980, or to a mobile device, such as a tablet computer 990. Thetablet computer 990 might augment the data from the data extractor 970with information such as the name of the operator of the vehicle, or thefield being harvested or prepared. The tablet 990 might then transmitthe data ticket to a remote server. Similarly, a data ticket might beautomatically generated for “input” to the crop production process, suchas how a quantity of seed was applied to a field.

FIG. 12 illustrates a beginning-to-end sequence tracking production 1200of food or other crop (or, analogously, mining or forestry product) thatmight be captured using embodiments of the invention. The process startswith “sources”, suppliers 1205 that provide inputs 1210, such as seed1211, fertilizer 1212, and pesticides 1213. There are phases of inputtransport 1220, such as have already been described in this document. Inthe field 1240, data extraction from the buses 901 of vehicles providesinformation about what was planted 1241, how the field and crop 1250were prepared and processed 1242, and what was harvested 1243. The crop1250 goes through phases of output transport 1260 to consumers 1270(“sinks”) of the product, such as customers 1271 or storage 1272.

Breadcrumb Trails

FIG. 13 shows another embodiment 1300 of a farm vehicular system thatuses a CAN bus 1310 to read sensor information from sensors 1320 and1322. These sensors 1320-1322 can located directly the vehicle andprovide information such as speed or fuel consumption for the vehicle.Alternatively, the sensors 1320-1322 can be located on an implementattached to the vehicle, and can provide information such as the weightof the goods that are being carried by a field cart. This data is readby a tablet computer 1350 (or another digital computing system such as apersonal computer or a smart phone) and transmitted over a network 1360to a remote server 1370 for storage in a database 1380. As explainedabove in connection with the embodiment 900 shown in FIG. 9, the tabletcomputer 1350 has access to the data available on the CAN bus 1310 via adata extractor 1340. The tablet computer 1350 can be directly connectedto the data extractor 1340 or be connected via a wireless connection ornetwork. The tablet computer 1350 has the ability to read globalpositioning information from a GPS device 1330 on the CAN bus 1310, oralternatively the tablet computer 1350 can utilize internal GPScapabilities as shown in via the dotted portion 1352 in FIG. 13. Thetablet computer 1350 is not limited to reading data from the sensors1320, 1322 that reside on the CAN bus 1310. In system 1300, the tabletcomputer 1350 is capable of directly communicating with sensor three1324 that may reside on a farm vehicle or implement but does notcommunicate over the CAN bus 1310. For instance, sensor three 1324 mayhave the ability to be directly queried for sensor readings over a Wi-Finetwork or via a Bluetooth connection established between itself 1324and the tablet computer 1350. While three sensors 1320-1324 are shown inFIG. 13, the present invention could easily be implemented with more orfewer sensors.

In this embodiment 1300, the tablet computer takes periodic readings ofone or more of the sensors 1320, 1322, 1324 and records this informationas a data point along with the current time and the current position ofthe vehicle. This data point is stored in the memory of the tabletcomputer 1350. These data points are not collected based upon useractivation of a ticket-generation app as described above in connectionwith FIG. 6, nor are they collected based upon the identification of anearby beacon, as described above in connection with FIG. 7. Rather,these data points are routinely and periodically collected at regularintervals. These intervals could be every few seconds or every fewminutes. The numerous data points stored by the tablet computer 1350 canbe considered “bread crumbs” tracking the location of the farm vehicleat any given point in time. Furthermore, the bread crumbs associate thistime and location information with sensor data from one or more of thesensors 1320-1324 that are readable by the tablet computer 1350. As aresult, these bread crumbs record valuable information about the crop(during harvest) or inputs (during planting, for example) that isalready being generated by the sensors 1320-1324.

These data points can be combined to create data trails (or bread crumbtrails) that contain information about a vehicle's location and sensorreadings over a given time period. These data trails are then forwardedover the network 1360 to be stored in the database 1380 by the server1370. The trails can be forwarded at the end of a working day.Preferably, however, the tablet computer 1350 forwards these trails tothe server 1370 more frequently, such as every 15-30 minutes. As a farmmay have multiple vehicles in the field at any given time, the server1370 should receive data trails from a plurality of vehicles over thesame time period for any given farm.

An example of a transmitted data trail 1400 is shown in FIG. 14. Thisdata trail 1400 includes a farm (or “client”) identifier 1410, a machineidentifier 1420, an operator identifier 1430, and a machine type 1440(for instance, a combine, a field cart, or a semi-truck). In most cases,a user will have entered this information into an app running on themobile device 1350. Similar to the app described above, this informationwould only need to be entered once. If a particular tablet computer 1350is used on only a single farm vehicle (such as a field cart), theclient/farm identifier 1410, machine identifier 1420, and machine type1440 would never change. The operator would only need to confirm thatthey are properly identified at the beginning of the day to ensure thatthe operator ID 1430 is correct. Data trail 1400 also includes amaterial type 1450. If the machine were being used to harvest corn, thematerial type would be “corn.” If the machine were being used to plantseed, the material type might be “corn seed.”

Data elements 1410-1450 could be considered header data for the datatrail 1400, as this data 1410-1450 is presented only once in the datatrail 1400. In contrast, numerous data points 1460 are incorporated intoa single data trail 1400. As explained above, each data point 1460includes date and time information 1462, GPS location 1464 specifyingthe geographic location of the vehicle at the specified date and time1462, and sensor data 1466, 1468, and 1470 as read from sensors 1320,1322, 1324, respectively, at that date and time 1462. The sensor data1466-1470 included in the data trail 1400 may be the actual valuesprovided by the sensors 1320-1324. Alternatively, the data extractor1340 or the tablet computer 1350 could have processed these values toprovide more useful sensor data 1466-1470 in the data points 1460.

As explained above, the data trails 1400 are gathered by the computingdevices 1350 associated with the various farm vehicles in operation onthe farm and then forwarded to the server 1370 for storage andprocessing. In one embodiment, the server 1370 is also able to obtaindata trail information from a third party data storage system 1390 thatis accessible over the network 1360. For example, a manufacturer of afarm vehicle or implement may collect information from sensors 1320,1322 and GPS 1330 automatically and upload this information to themanufacturer's own data storage facility 1390. In this embodiment, theserver 1370 can access this information and add it to the data trailinformation that the server 1370 receives from the tablet computers1350.

The server 1370 analyzes data trails 1400 from multiple vehicles toidentify time periods when two of the vehicles may be interacting witheach other. These “touch-points” can be determined by examining the datatrails 1400 for each vehicle. A touch-point is found when the time 1462and GPS location data 1464 within trails 1400 indicate that the vehiclesare proximate to each other (for instance, within 30 feet of each other,although the definition of “proximate” can vary depending on the vehicletypes and the accuracy of the GPS devices 1330, 1352). When such atouch-point is identified, the sensor data 1466-1470 in the two trails1400 is analyzed to see if there has been any transfer of goods betweenthe two vehicles. For instance, if one vehicle has a scale 1320 that issubmitting weight information to the tablet computer 1350, the server1370 can determine by examining the data trails 1400 that two vehiclesapproached one another and 5500 pounds of goods were transferred fromone vehicle to another. This information can be used to generate aticket for use in the systems described above. In some cases, the datafrom sensors 1320-1324 is not sufficient to prove that goods have beentransferred. In these cases, tickets may still be generated even thoughthe sensor data does not provide sufficient information to indicate onthe generated ticket the amount of goods that have been transferred.

FIG. 15 shows a first trail 1510 for a first vehicle and a second trail1520 for a second vehicle approaching each other at location 1500. Thetrails 1510, 1520 in FIG. 15 are shown geographically, with differentpositions on the Figure indicating that the vehicle was in a differentlocation in physical space. Each trail is shown with black dotsindicating the location of the vehicle at a particular time (T1, T2, T3,etc.). These black dots should not be viewed as the only data points1460 that exist in these two trails 1510, 1520, but are included in FIG.15 simply to help understand the positions of the vehicles at varioustimes. In the preferred embodiment, each trail 1510, 1520 would containmany more data points than the few dots shown in FIG. 15.

Trail 1510 is shown proximal to location 1500 around time T4 and aroundtime T7. Trail 1510 indicates that after time T4, vehicle one (“V1”)left location 1500 and returned to the field, and then returned back tothe same location 1500 around time T7. In contrast, vehicle two (“V2”)arrived proximal to location 1500 at T2 and stayed through time T7without moving. At time T9, vehicle 2 arrived at location 1530, asdescribed in more detail below.

The server computer 1370 analyzes the trails (including trails 1510 and1520) it receives for a farm looking for touch-points. As the trails1510, 1520 indicate that the first and second vehicle were proximal toeach other at both time T4 and time T7, the server computer 1370 willconsider these times T4, T7 as separate touch-points. In the preferredembodiment, the server 1370 will analyze the sensor data 1450-1470relating to these touch-points in each data trail 1510 and 1520 todetermine whether or not a ticket should be created. Assuming thatvehicle V1 is a combine working a field and periodically unloading intoa semi-truck, one or both of these data trails 1510, 1520 will havesensor data 1466-1470 indicating the amount of crop transferred at eachof these touch-points. This data will be used to generate tickets asdescribed above, with the machine ID 1420 and type 1440, farm ID 1410,operator IDs 1430, and material type 1450 from the two trails 1510, 1520all being included in the ticket data. In cases where both data trails1510, 1520 have sensor data indicating the amount of crop transferred,these two values can be compared and analyzed. Similar numbers can beaveraged or otherwise merged into a single value in the ticket, whiledissimilar numbers may indicate an error or other aberration and aretherefore noted in the database and highlighted when viewed by the backoffice computer.

In some cases, a trail, such as trail 1520, can be compared to a staticgeo-fence such as location 1530. A geo-fence is a pre-defined geographicboundary around an area that may trigger an event. In this case,geo-fence 1530 is static as it defines a non-moving boundary around anarea that may trigger the creation of a ticket. Such a location couldbe, for example, a storage facility, a customer location, or a cropprocessor. In FIG. 15, location 1530 defines a storage location thatreceives a load of the crop from the truck V2. The server computer 1370can treat the geo-fence 1530 as a static, unchanging trail for thepurposes of finding touch-points with other trails. In this context, theserver computer 1370 would identify a touch-point at time T9 when V2entered the area defined by geo-fence 1530. In some cases, the statictrail generated by geo-fence 1530 contains no sensor data. In thesecases, only the sensor information available through vehicle V2 could beused to generate the tickets. In other cases, sensors at the storagefacility 1530 could provide data points to the server 1370. Although thegeographic location 1464 information in these data points would notchange, the sensor data 1466-1470 could be associated with date and timeinformation 1462 to supplement the tickets generated by the server 1370.

In FIG. 16, the trail 1600 for a third vehicle is superimposed over thetwo trails 1510, 1520 from FIG. 15. This trail 1600 could have beenprovided to the server 1370 at a later time than the other trails 1510,1520, which may occur when the computing device 1350 aboard vehicle V3cannot access the network 1360 accept through a local area network atthe end of the day. The server 1370 receives this trail and compares itto the other trails it has received for the identified farm, includingtrails 1510 and 1520. In this case, the server 1370 would identify atouch-point at time T5, when both vehicles V2 and V3 were found nearlocation 1500. By examining sensor data included in data trails 1520 and1600, the server computer 1370 can generate the appropriate ticketscomplete with information related to the amount of crop transferred.

In some circumstances, none of the vehicles V1, V2, or V3 containsensors that indicate the weight or amount of goods transferred. Inthese cases, tickets can be created for the touch-points at T4, T5, andT7 with incomplete information concerning the amount transferred. Inthese circumstances, it may be that the storage facility at location1530 can determine the amount of crop that it received from truck V2. Inthese circumstances, the server 1370 can use the generated tickets andthe trails 1510, 1520, 1600 to estimate the amount of crop transferredat times T4, T5, and T7. For example, if 15000 pounds of corn werereceived at the storage facility 1530, the server 1370 could divide thisamount evenly and assume that 5000 pounds were transferred to the truckV2 at times T4, T5, and T7, respectively. Alternatively, because thetrails 1510, 1600 contain data showing the distance travelled byvehicles V1 and V3, the server could use this distance-travelled data todivide the total crop transferred to the storage facility between theticket events that occurred at T4, T5, and T7 (assuming that a combineV1, V3 which travelled a greater distance in the field would acquirecorn).

In yet another embodiment, combine vehicles in a field would transfertheir corn to field carts while remaining in the field, and the fieldcarts would then deliver the corn to the semi-trailer waiting at theedge of the field. In these circumstances, the server 1370 could analyzethe amount of distance travelled by the combine vehicles, and use itsknowledge about the load limits of the field carts to help apportion thetotal corn delivered to the storage facility between the individualtouch-points and tickets.

As explained above in connection with FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, different typesof tickets can be generated depending on the activity involved. Theserver 1370 can use the machine type information 1440 (and material typeinformation 1450) within the trails 1510, 1520, 1600 to determinewhether a particular touch-point should generate a cart ticket 310, 410,510; a field to storage ticket 320, 520; a storage to customer ticket330, 550, a field to customer ticket 420, a storage to processor ticket430, or a processor to storage ticket 540. Obviously, other types oftickets could also be created, such as a field to processor ticket or aprocessor to customer ticket, as the circumstances of the transfer ofcrop may require.

FIG. 17 shows one method 1700 for utilizing the data trails 1400 togenerate tickets in an inputs and harvest management system. The methodstarts at step 1705 when the server 1370 receives a data trail 1400 froma computing device 1350 associated with a vehicle. In somecircumstances, the computing device 1350 may send data trail 1400 to theserver 1370 periodically during the workday. For example, separate datatrails 1400 may be sent by a device every fifteen minutes. At step 1710,the server 1370 may merge consecutive data trails 1400 sent by the samedevice 1350 into a single data trail 1400 to simplify the resultinganalysis.

At step 1715, the data trail 1400 is compared to other trails for thesame farm (or client) to determine touch-points. Touch-points aredetermined by geographic proximity between two data trails at the same.If no touch-points are found for a trail 1400 (as determined by step1720), the data trail 1400 is stored by the server 1370 in the database1380 for analysis against additional trails 1400 that are received at alater time.

If step 1720 determines that one or more touch-points for the data trail1400 were identified, step 1730 will select two data trails 1400involved in one of the touch-points for possible ticket generation. Atstep 1735, the two data trails 1400 are analyzed to determine themachine type 1440 for the two trails. Based on this information, thetype of data ticket can be determined.

At step 1740, the sensor data 1466-1470 in the data trails 1400 for thetime period of the touch-points is examined. It is important to notethat a touch-point relates to a time duration during which two (or more)vehicles were in close proximity. During this time period, multiple datapoints could have been created. As a result, it is necessary to examinethe sensor data 1466-1470 for all data points during the time period ofthe touch-point in each of the data trails 1400. This examination mayinclude scale data indicating the weight of crop on one or more of thevehicles. This sensor data may indicate no change in the amount of cropon either vehicle during the touch-point. In this case, it is likelythat no transfer between the vehicles took place. In this case, step1745 may determine not to create a ticket for this touch-point.Alternatively, the sensor data 1466-1470 may indicate that the weight ofcrop on a first vehicle decreased by 5400 pounds from the beginning ofthe touch-point to the end of the touch-point. Even if the other vehicledid not have access to a scale sensor, this change in weight on thefirst vehicle can be used to indicate the amount of crop transferredbetween vehicles.

At step 1745, the server 1370 may determine that this circumstancewarrants the generation of a ticket. If so, step 1750 creates theappropriate kind of ticket and populates the ticket with data 1410-1450and appropriate time data 1462, location data 1464, and sensor data1466-1470 from the data points. Obviously, it is not necessary toinclude all of the sensor data 1466-1470 from all of the availablesensors 1320-1324 for all data points 1460 in the touch-point. Instead,the server 1370 will analyze this data 1466-1470 and include only therelevant and important data within the generated ticket.

In some cases, the automated generation of tickets using the bread crumbtrails 1400 takes place in parallel with the manual generation oftickets using the app described above in connection with FIG. 6. Whenthis occurs, the automatically generated tickets may be matched up witha manually generated ticket for the same event at step 1755. When theserver 1370 finds these matches, similar data on the different ticketscan be merged together so that only a single combined ticket is createdat step 1760. This step 1760 may also identify dissimilar or conflictingdata in the multiple tickets. In these cases, the server 1370 will makenote of these difference in the database 1380 and highlight thedifference when the data is reviewed by the back office computer.

After step 1760, step 1765 determines if more touch-points need to beevaluated for this data trail 1400. If so, the process 1700 returns tostep 1730. If not, the process continues at step 1725 and the data trail1400 is stored for later analysis. Step 1765 is also executed if step1745 determines not to create a ticket for the touch-point, or if step1755 determines that there are no matching manual tickets.

FIG. 18 shows data trail 1500 in isolation. Superimposed over this trailare two geo-fences that determine the boundaries for field one 1810 andfield two 1820. These fields 1810, 1820 are defined by each client orfarm so as to track the yield and expenses for the farm on afield-by-field basis. As can be seen in FIG. 18, vehicle one was foundon field one 1810 before the touch-point that occurred with vehicle twoat time T4, and was found on field two 1820 for the time after thetouch-point at time T4 and before the touch-point at time T7. Utilizingthe data points in trail 1500, the server 1370 can assign the ticketcreated for the touch-point at T4 to field one 1810, and can assign theticket created for the touch-point at T7 to field two 1820. This fieldassignment does not require any manual user identification of thefields, which is more convenient and is more likely to lead to accuratefield assignments to the tickets than the manual field identificationprocess described above.

FIG. 19 shows the same data trail 1500, but in this case the geo-fencesthat define the boundaries for field one 1910 and field two 1920 havebeen altered. In this case, all of the first ticket (associated with thetouch-point at time T4) is still assigned to field one 1910. However,vehicle one was on both field one 1910 and field two 1920 in the periodbefore the touch-point at time T7. In this case, the second ticket(associated with the T7 touch-point) is assigned to both field one 1910and field two 1920. This can be done by assigning half of the cropdescribed in the second ticket to field one 1910 and half to field two1920. Alternatively, the server 1370 can use the data trail 1500 todetermine the actual length of time that the vehicle was on field one1910 and field two 1920 during this time period and divide the crop onthe second ticket in the same proportions between these two fields 1910,1920.

FIG. 20 shows the steps in a method 2000 for supplementing unknown datain tickets generated by method 1700. The method starts at step 2010,during which the server 1730 gathers all tickets that have beengenerated in associated with a single data trail 1400. This data trail1400 may be a merged trail of multiple trails received by the server1370 for a single vehicle, as described above in connection with step1710. At steps 2020 and 2030, the server 1370 identifies all of theknown and unknown data, respectively, in those tickets associated withthe single data trail 1400. For example, a semi-truck may have receivedcrops from three different field carts when parked adjacent to a farm.Each of these transfers will be associated with a separate ticket. Thesame truck then delivered the crops to a storage facility on the farm,which would be associated with a fourth ticket. If we assume that thefield carts and the truck do not have scales, the amount of the croptransferred to the truck in the first three tickets would be unknown. Ifthe storage facility did have a sensor for determining the total amountof crop transferred off of the semi-truck and this data was transferredto the server 1370, the fourth ticket would indicate the total weight ofthe crop that was on the truck. Step 2040 can then use this informationto assign weight values to the first three tickets. This step can beaccomplished by simply assigning each of the three cart tickets toone-third of the weight indicated in the field to storage ticket.Alternatively, the data trails associated with each of the three carttickets can be examined in further detail in attempt to moreappropriately divide the weight between the three cart tickets. Becauseeach of these tickets may be assigned to one or more different fields ona farm, this division of the crop between the tickets can be importantin determining the yield from any given field. The process 2000 thenends at step 2040.

FIG. 21 shows a method 2100 for dividing a ticket between multiplefields, as was described above in connection with FIGS. 18 and 19. Instep 2110, a data trail 1400 associated with a single ticket isevaluated. Because any given trail 1400 may be associated with multipletickets, it can be important to identify that portion of the trail 1400that is associated with the single ticket. For the ticket created attime T7 above, the relevant portion of trail 1500 is that portion whichoccurred after time T4 up to time T7. The geographic path of thisportion of the data trail 1400 is then compared with geo-fences thatdefine the boundaries for a plurality of fields at step 2120. Based onthis comparison, the data (such as weight or mass data, which shall beconsidered equivalent herein) is then divided at step 2130 between thefields through which the geographic path of the data trail 1400 passed.At this point, process 2100 ends.

FIG. 22 contains a flow chart showing a method 2200 in which the trailgeneration process described above can be used to track the completionof items in a to-do list or tasks in a project management schedule.These items and tasks are created in step 2210 of FIG. 22. Some of theseitems or tasks are then associated with events that can be monitored bythe server 1370 at step 2220. For instance, the items or tasks can beassociated with particular inputs in a farm setting or particularactivities on a field. As an example, a project management task might beto plant seed in field one, or to apply herbicide to field three. Atstep 2230, the server 1370 compares the activities and geographic areasdescribed in the received data trails 1400 with the events that wereassociated with the tasks and to-do items in step 2220. By examiningthese trails 1400 and the generated tickets, the server 1370 may be ableto identify that one of these tasks or to-do items has been completed.If so, step 2240 will indicate that the item is complete, and theprocess 2200 ends.

The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from theabove description. Numerous modifications and variations will readilyoccur to those skilled in the art. For example, the above descriptionexplained that various software programs can be running on mobiledevices that operating in various crop-related machines or at variouscrop-related locations. Many aspects of the present invention would beequally novel if these mobile devices were fixedly mounted in theselocations so that they were no longer technically mobile. Furthermore,many aspects of the present invention remain novel even if thetechnology running these applications were embedded directly into themachinery or locations involved. In connection with the methods setforth in the flow charts, some of the described steps might be performedin a different order, some might be omitted and others added, all whileremaining within the scope of the inventive concepts described herein.Since such modifications are possible, the invention is not to belimited to the exact construction and operation illustrated anddescribed. Rather, the present invention should be limited only by thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of transferring crop and determiningcrop transfer amounts comprising: a) at a first farm vehicle: i)monitoring a clock to determine when a periodic interval has occurred;ii) at the periodic interval, reading a sensor on the first farm vehicleto determine a sensor value indicative of an amount of crop carried bythe first farm vehicle; iii) at the periodic interval, reading the clockto determine a current time; iv) at the periodic interval, reading a GPSdevice to determine a current physical location for the first farmvehicle; v) at the periodic interval, store the current time, sensorvalue indicative of the amount of crop, and the current physicallocation as a data point; b) at a particular time and at a particularlocation, altering the amount of crop carried by the first farm vehicle,thereby changing the sensor value on the farm vehicle; c) repeating stepa) to create a plurality of data points at different times separated bythe periodic interval, the plurality of data points including datapoints before and after the particular time; d) at the first vehicle,transmitting a first vehicle identifier and the plurality of data pointsthereby transmitting a first data trail; e) receiving the first datatrail at a server computer; f) receiving, at the server computer, asecond data trail including a second vehicle identifier and a seconddata trail; g) comparing the first data trail and the second data trailto identify a first touch-point between the first data trail and thesecond data trail; wherein at the first touch-point the first vehicle isat the particular location at the particular time; h) generating a firstdata ticket for the first touch-point, the first data ticket comprising:i) the first vehicle identifier, ii) the second identifier, iii) theparticular time, and iv) a crop transfer amount derived from the firstsensor measurement.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second datatrail relates to a static location, wherein crop is transferred betweenthe first farm vehicle and the static location at the particular time,and wherein the second data trail includes periodic measurements of asensor found at that static location.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereina first set of data points in the first data trail are identified instep g) as relating to the first touch-point, and wherein the croptransfer amount in the first data ticket is derived by analyzing thesensor value in the first set of data points.
 4. The method of claim 3,wherein the crop transfer amount is derived by subtracting a minimumsensor value in the first set of data points from a maximum sensor valuein the first set of data points.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thesecond data trail relates to a second vehicle, wherein crop istransferred between the first vehicle and the second vehicle at theparticular time, and further wherein the second data trail includes asecond plurality of data points relating to a plurality of geographiclocations at a plurality of times.
 6. The method of claim 5, whereineach of the first plurality of data points in the first trail includes asecond sensor measurement derived from a second sensor on the firstvehicle.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein each of the second pluralityof data points in the second data trail includes a second sensormeasurement derived from a second sensor on the second vehicle, furthercomprising: i) comparing the first sensor measurement and the secondsensor measurement for the first touch-point to confirm accuracy of thecrop transfer amount and detect any inconsistency.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: i) determining a type of data ticket byanalyzing type data in the first and second trail and including thedetermined type of data ticket in the first data ticket.
 9. The methodof claim 8, wherein the first trail includes a first vehicle typeidentifier and the second trail includes a separate vehicle typeidentifier, wherein the type of data ticket is determined by analyzingthe first and second vehicle type identifiers.
 10. The method of claim1, further comprising: i) receiving, at the server computer, a thirddata trail including a third vehicle identifier and a third data trail;j) comparing the second data trail and the third data trail to identifya second touch-point relating to the second and third data trails; k)generating a second data ticket for the second touch-point.
 11. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: i) receiving, at the servercomputer, a third data trail including the first vehicle identifier anda data trail; and j) merging the third data trail with the first datatrail before the comparing step g).
 12. The method of claim 1, whereinthe first data trail identifies a first operator that is operating thefirst vehicle.
 13. A method comprising: a) generating a data point on afirst vehicle at a particular time, the data point storing theparticular time, the location of the first vehicle at the particulartime, and sensor data measured by the first moving vehicle and relatingto a quantity of goods that are being transported by the first vehicleat the particular time, wherein the data points are generated in realtime by a first computing device that periodically reads sensor datafrom a first sensor on the first vehicle and records that sensor data inthe data point along with a time as indicated by a clock in thecomputing device and along with location information read from a GPSdevice; b) at a particular time and at a particular location,transferring goods so as to vary the amount of goods carried by thevehicle, thereby changing the sensor data on the vehicle; c) repeatingstep a) at different times to generate a first trail comprising aplurality of data points for a first time period, the plurality of datapoints including data points before and after the particular time; d)generating a second trail comprising a plurality of data points for asecond vehicle during a second time period that overlaps the first timeperiod; e) transmitting the first and second trail to a server computer;f) comparing, at the server computer, the first and second trails toidentify a first touch-point time period during which the first andsecond vehicles were proximate to each other; and g) analyzing sensordata relating to the goods in the data points for the first touch-pointtime period to determine the amount of goods transferred between thefirst and second vehicles.
 14. The method of claim 13, furthercomprising: h) generating a data ticket for the first touch-point timeperiod relating to the transfer of goods and storing the ticket in acomputerized database to track the goods.
 15. The method of claim 13,wherein the first sensor is read by the computing device over a CAN bus.16. The method of claim 13, wherein the first sensor is read by thecomputing device over a wireless connection between the computing deviceand the first sensor.
 17. The method of claim 13, wherein the goods arecrops grown in a plurality of farm fields, further comprising: h)analyzing the first trail to determine a field for the data ticket bycomparing the location information in the first trail with a geo-fencedefined for the field in order to identify the particular field oforigin for the crop carried by the first vehicle.
 18. The method ofclaim 17, wherein the analysis determines both a first field and asecond field for the data ticket based on geo-fences defined for thefirst and second field.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein the dataticket is divided between the first and second field based on the timeduration spent by the first vehicle within the geo-fence defined for thefirst and second field, respectively.
 20. A method comprising: a)transmitting across a network by each of a first vehicle, a secondvehicle, and a third vehicle a respective trail, each trail indicating alocation of the vehicle at a plurality of points in time; b)transferring goods between the first vehicle and the third vehicle at afirst time; c) transferring goods between the second vehicle and thethird vehicle at a second time; d) transferring goods off the thirdvehicle at a third time; e) receiving the trails from the threevehicles; f) creating tickets based on the trails, including: i) a firstticket relating to the transfer of goods between the first vehicle andthe third vehicle, ii) a second ticket relating to the transfer of goodsbetween the second vehicle and a third vehicle, iii) a third ticketrelating to the transfer of goods off the third vehicle; wherein onlythe third ticket includes an amount of goods transferred based directlyupon vehicle sensor data, that has been measured by at least one of thevehicles and is included in the trails; wherein the first and secondticket includes an amount of goods transferred based on calculationsthat divvy up the amount of goods transferred in the third ticket basedupon the trails received from the first and second vehicle.